WV DEP: Cleanups Removed 300 Tons of Trash

West Virginians are proud of their state and its beauty and understand the importance of keeping it clean," said Danny Haught, chief of the Department of Environmental Protection's Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan, which oversees the programs.

Jul 15, 2014

Two litter cleanups sponsored by the West Virginia state departments of Environmental Protection and Transportation this year removed more than 600,000 pounds of trash, the DEP reported July 14. Final numbers for the Make It Shine and Adopt-A-Highway April cleanups showed more than 9,000 West Virginians participated in them and collected more than 300 tons of litter.

"We could not accomplish the great things these programs do without dedicated West Virginia citizens,who spend their free time picking up litter along our roadways and streams. West Virginians are proud of their state and its beauty and understand the importance of keeping it clean," said Danny Haught, chief of DEP's Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan, which oversees the programs.

The Make It Shine cleanup ran the first two weeks of April and attracted 5,217 volunteers who participated in at least one cleanup in each of the state's 55 counties, removing 380,474 pounds of trash from roadways, streams, trails, and parks. They collected 2,429 discarded tires. Adopt-A-Highway cleanup day was April 26, and it attracted 3,880 volunteers who cleaned 1,085 miles of roadways, collecting 259,945 pounds of litter.